When Chris O'Neill was in New York City to audition for the touring company of "The Book of Mormon, " the production company sent him to see the show on Broadway.

It made a strong impression.

"I nearly vomited, " O'neill said. "I thought, 'There's no way I can do this.'"

The show's creative team had a little more faith in his abilities than he did, and cast him to play Elder Cunningham in the show. (They also arranged for him to work with a vocal coach and have helped him feel comfortable in the role.)

O'Neill and the rest of the company will begin a local run on Tuesday at Proctor's in Schenectady. The show will run through March 16.

"The Book of Mormon" follows a pair of Mormons on their mission to Uganda. The confident Elder Price (played on tour by Mark Evans) sings of his certainty that God intends him to do something "incredible"; Elder Cunningham is spazzier, with a tendency to just make things up whenever he gets into a jam.

When the challenges of working in Uganda spark a crisis of faith for Elder Price, Elder Cunningham has to step up his game to try to win souls for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The musical was dreamed up by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creative team behind TV's "South Park, " and by Robert Lopez, who co-created "Avenue Q." So expect plenty of irreverent humor and adult content, including a fair amount of profanity.

Fans of both "South Park" and "Avenue Q" would also note that a strain of loopy sweetness is woven into the show.

The touring production is not a word-for-word re-creation of the Broadway show, which scored nine Tony Awards. Parker, Stone and Lopez have continued tweaking the show, O'Neill said.

"That's the great thing — they didn't win all these awards and send the show into the sunset, " he said. "They're still very involved with the show.

"It keeps the show alive, too. Josh Gad, the original Elder Cunningham on Broadway, was very loud; the way I take the act is a little different."

Evans, too, appreciates that he hasn't had to re-create Andrew Rannells' interpretation of Elder Price.

"It's the same character, but it's Mark Evans' version, which is very nice," Evans said.

He and O'Neill have become fast friends offstage, and that relationship feeds into what they do onstage, both actors said.

"Mark and I are on stage for 98 percent of the show, " O'Neill said. "There's a lot of running around screaming, singing; it's important for us to be on the same page."

After expending all that energy, he said, they leave the theater on a huge high that carries them all the way back to the hotel — and not much farther.

"We don't have any problems sleeping, he said. "We're like windup toys; we have just enough to get through the show, and then our bodies need to rest."